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Local hospitals close in price for procedures

Published: Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, May 10, 2013 at 6:44 p.m.

Click here for Data on North Carolina hospital chargesResidents are no longer in the dark when it comes to the prices hospitals charge for procedures.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released the 100 most common inpatient procedures performed in the 2011 fiscal year, and how much hospitals around the country charge for those procedures.
For the first time, residents can search hospitals in the area and find out how comparable they are in price. A database of information for all North Carolina hospitals is available by clicking here

While the numbers may not affect patients with commercial insurance or Medicare, the uninsured may need to pay attention.

The cost to patients with commercial insurance is based on variables such as deductibles and what company they're with.

For Medicare patients, the price is going to be reasonably close at whichever hospital they choose, Park Ridge Health officials said. For the uninsured, however, everything is out of pocket.

Locally, Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville, Park Ridge Health in Fletcher and Mission Health in Asheville are within shouting distance of each other when it comes to costs for procedures. That's not the case around the country, as some hospitals just a few miles away from each other vary greatly in price.

The breakdown released — using Medicare reimbursement as the guidelines — shows how much a hospital receives for its services and how much it is reimbursed through Medicare. For example, for an intracranial hemorrhage or cerebral infarction procedure, Pardee charges $13,274, Park Ridge charges $15,842 and Mission charges $19,276. In return, the entities are reimbursed $6,580, $6,749 and $7,551, respectively, from Medicare.

“Hospital prices are the list price for services,” Pardee Chief Financial Officer Alan House said. “Health care payors (Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurance companies) pay hospitals based upon their own method of payment, and in the case of Medicare and Medicaid, that method is not based upon charges.”

People without insurance will have to do their research when it comes to costs. But both Pardee and Park Ridge offer assistance to the uninsured.

“Charges for uninsured patients have been dealt with on an individual basis by hospitals, with discounting up to full charity care write-offs determined typically by the patient's income and other financial measures,” House said.

Park Ridge offers the same type of discounting to patients without insurance.

“We extend significant discounts to patients who are uninsured, and pricing has no correlation with the quality of the service that is provided at Park Ridge Health,” said Kirsten Cutler, communications manager at Park Ridge Health.

For more information on what local hospitals charge, visit www.blueridgenow.com.

<b><a href="http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20130509/NEWS/130509829">Click here for Data on North Carolina hospital charges</a></b>
<br>Residents are no longer in the dark when it comes to the prices hospitals charge for procedures. <br>
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services released the 100 most common inpatient procedures performed in the 2011 fiscal year, and how much hospitals around the country charge for those procedures. <br>
For the first time, residents can search hospitals in the area and find out how comparable they are in price. A database of information for all North Carolina hospitals is available <b><a href="http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20130509/NEWS/130509829"> by clicking here</a></b><br><p>While the numbers may not affect patients with commercial insurance or Medicare, the uninsured may need to pay attention. </p><p>The cost to patients with commercial insurance is based on variables such as deductibles and what company they're with.</p><p>For Medicare patients, the price is going to be reasonably close at whichever hospital they choose, Park Ridge Health officials said. For the uninsured, however, everything is out of pocket.</p><p>Locally, Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville, Park Ridge Health in Fletcher and Mission Health in Asheville are within shouting distance of each other when it comes to costs for procedures. That's not the case around the country, as some hospitals just a few miles away from each other vary greatly in price.</p><p>The breakdown released — using Medicare reimbursement as the guidelines — shows how much a hospital receives for its services and how much it is reimbursed through Medicare. For example, for an intracranial hemorrhage or cerebral infarction procedure, Pardee charges $13,274, Park Ridge charges $15,842 and Mission charges $19,276. In return, the entities are reimbursed $6,580, $6,749 and $7,551, respectively, from Medicare.</p><p>For a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease procedure, Pardee charges $17,082, Park Ridge charges $16,884 and Mission charges $16,400. The Medicare reimbursement for each is $6,832, $7,055 and $7,861, respecitively.</p><p>“Hospital prices are the list price for services,” Pardee Chief Financial Officer Alan House said. “Health care payors (Medicaid, Medicare and commercial insurance companies) pay hospitals based upon their own method of payment, and in the case of Medicare and Medicaid, that method is not based upon charges.”</p><p>People without insurance will have to do their research when it comes to costs. But both Pardee and Park Ridge offer assistance to the uninsured. </p><p>“Charges for uninsured patients have been dealt with on an individual basis by hospitals, with discounting up to full charity care write-offs determined typically by the patient's income and other financial measures,” House said. </p><p>Park Ridge offers the same type of discounting to patients without insurance.</p><p>“We extend significant discounts to patients who are uninsured, and pricing has no correlation with the quality of the service that is provided at Park Ridge Health,” said Kirsten Cutler, communications manager at Park Ridge Health. </p><p>For more information on what local hospitals charge, visit www.blueridgenow.com. </p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>